Politics and Soccer

On the 19th, Prime Minister Takaichi dissolved the House of Representatives, and it has been decided that a House election will be held with voting and counting on February 8.

Wanting to fight an election you can win is only human, so perhaps the idea is to solidify the governing base while support for the Takaichi Cabinet is still high. (Right now it’s a minority ruling party, after all.)

Well, my mother is complaining nonstop, though. She’s disliked Prime Minister Takaichi for a long time, and she likes Mr. Tōru Tamagawa.

However, at this point, the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito have moved closer together, and a Centrist Reform Coalition has been formed.

Whether that becomes the detonator for a realignment of the political world remains to be seen.

That said, as those people often argue, it may be necessary to revise the electoral system itself and aim for a moderate multiparty system (a multiparty system with small ideological differences between parties).

(Still, even in Germany, which is a moderate multiparty system, the reality is that far-right parties are steadily gaining ground.)

Japan currently uses a mixed-member system (single-member districts plus proportional representation), and the number of seats from single-member districts is large.

Single-member districts are about choosing a candidate, but since only one person can win in each district, big parties (in Japan, the LDP and the Centrist Reform Coalition, perhaps) inevitably have an advantage.

On the other hand, proportional representation is about choosing a party, and seats are allocated according to each party’s vote share, so it favors small and mid-sized parties.

In any case, since the district system favors major parties, I have to keep that in mind when I vote, too.

Previously, I wrote:

“If you’re only trying to make yourself look good in front of the public, no one will follow you.”

And this is also something people often say:

“Because soccer is something you do together, you should value harmony with those around you.”

Politics is the same: it’s not something one person can do alone.

Even in Germany under the Nazi dictatorship, besides Adolf Hitler at the top, there were figures like Joseph Goebbels as propaganda minister and Albert Speer as armaments minister.

All the more so in democratic politics.

What this reminds me of is Hidetoshi Nakata during his playing days. Back then, he:

・spoke bluntly even to older players

・made high-speed passes (killer passes) that were hard even for teammates to receive his main style

People today say, “If only there were a politician who really thought about the citizens,” but in some cases, a person like that might be perceived by those around them the way Nakata was.

Whether we really want someone like Nakata to become a politician or prime minister is highly doubtful. (He probably wouldn’t have much personal support from those around him.)

Also, as something I want from today’s politicians, I’ve written:

“I want them to clarify much more clearly the vision and process for making Japan a major tourism country.”

It seems that in 2025 the number of visitors to Japan was about 42.7 million, and spending also hit a record high of 9.5 trillion yen (Nikkei, 2026), but there don’t seem to be many in Miyagi or in Tateyama, Chiba—home of Hakkenden—so the balance feels off.

In the first place, my desire to “spread Japanese culture overseas, starting with Hakkenden” ultimately has the goal of making Japan a major tourism country. (Before that, though, we have to attract foreigners to places like Miyagi and Tateyama.)

Even just having more foreigners learn about Hakkenden, or having more chances to use English, would make me happy.

Most likely, each newspaper will publish a questionnaire showing how closely each citizen’s views match each party’s policies.

It looks like I’ll have no choice but to look at that and decide who to vote for.

Reference

Nihon Keizai Shimbun: “2025 inbound visitors to Japan exceed 40 million for the first time; announced by the transport minister” (2026)